Without You
by KaminskyGirl
Summary: Ginny is sent to a rehab center after the death of her fiance. Can she work through the hard times as she starts to appreciate the good times?
1. Chapter 1, Without You

I sat on the window seat looking at the dark outside as I rocked back and forth. I was currently residing in the "Home for those who Need Company." Although the name made it sound like a happy and friendly place, it was actually very similar to a muggle rehab center. A couple of weeks after Voldemort had been defeated, a head healer at St. Mungo's had started the HNC (Home for those who Need Company.) Anyone who was hurt during the war and needed serious help (was suicidal, for example,) went to the HNC for help.

Although it had started as a way to help people who were traumatized by war, it had turned into a rehab clinic for any wizard or witch who needed help. I was here as a result of war, but I was a relatively new "guest." Many of the other guests had been here for eight months, the entire time that the HNC had been open. I had arrived only two months ago and seemed to be getting no better.

During the final battle, my secret fiancé, Draco Malfoy, was hit with a curse. The spell eventually leads to death, but it kills you very slowly and painfully. When Harry had finally killed Voldemort, I had immediately gone looking for Draco. Most people still thought of him as a Death Eater and would hurt him on sight if someone else found him first. After looking around the huge battlefield, I finally found him leaning against a tree, holding his side tightly.

"Draco,' I said, breaking into a run as I caught sight of him.

Draco looked up at me and it looked like he tried to smile before his eyes flashed and his face went white.

"Draco?" I whispered worriedly as I knelt down beside him and cupped his cheek lightly.

"I'm…fine." Draco said unconvincingly. He was still holding onto his side tightly, and I could see his entire body going white. His eyes were now closed, and I could see sweat starting to form on his forehead.

I stood up and looked around the battleground for someone who could help me take him to St. Mungo's. Severus Snape was the only person in shouting range, so I quickly called him over.

Severus had come through for the Order during the final battle, and had even helped kill some of the more lethal Death Eaters.

"He's hurt, and I need help moving him to St. Mungo's." I told Severus, worry evident in my voice.

"St. Mungo's can't help him now," Severus said grimly, before adding, "Let's take him to my potions supply."

Severus had spent days giving Draco potion after potion to keep him alive for a longer period of time than the spell normally allowed. After administered, the spell usually let the victim live another month or month and a half at the most before the victim had to be killed because they were in so much pain. With the help of Severus' potions, Draco had many months to live before the full pain hit.

Draco managed to live five and a half months before the pain became too intense to live with. Everyone involved, including Draco himself, had decided that it would be better for Draco if he were killed. I was the only one who disagreed with this plan, but I was outvoted and Draco talked me through the entire thing, even though I should have been the one talking him through it.

A couple weeks after Draco had left this world, I had started getting manically depressed at the worst times, and I had even taken to fainting without notice. I never planned on any of it, but it just seemed to happen.

That's why I was now here at the HNC. They thought that they could help me get through this "rough patch" in my life, but I wasn't so sure, and I had honestly started to wonder if I was ever going to be my old self again.

**Hi. Here's the beginning of another story. This is just an introduction chapter, and that's all it was ever meant to be. I hope to leave this story with a somewhat happy ending, but that might change as I write more of the story. The title is taken from a song from Rent, and most of the chapter titles will also be taken from the same song. I'm not sure how much people are going to like this story, but I hope someone does!**

**Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2, The Ground Thaws

I realized after rereading the first chapter that I never mentioned who the narrator was

**I realized after rereading the first chapter that I never mentioned who the narrator was. Sorry about that. The story is from Ginny Weasley's point of view. She was Draco's fiancé, and after he died she got very depressed, and that is why she was sent to the HNC. Again, I'm sorry about that!**

I had an entire room to myself at the HNC, but it always felt awkward to me. Some days it seemed so big that I would get lost just walking to the bathroom, while other days I felt like no matter how I moved something would be in my way. Because of this, I took to sitting in one place unless I had to move. This meant that I frequently sat in the window seat. Draco had left me all of his money, so I had been put into one of the nicer rooms in the establishment, complete with window seat.

The only problem with my seating arrangement was that I was reminded of memories whenever I looked outside, which I tended to do often. By looking outside I was reminded of another world that I hoped to be in soon, a different world than the one that I was currently residing in. I felt like I was in a bubble, and the rest of the world was outside of my bubble. By looking outside the window, I was seeing outside the bubble.

This was my 65th day at the HNC. I kept track by marking the ground with chalk every time I woke up in the morning. The employees at HNC would be fine with telling me what day it was and when I arrived there, but it was something that I could do for myself, and it was something that I felt that I needed to do. My first month here had been scary and unpleasant. As I tried to forget about my first month here, I turned towards the window, which I regretted instantly as memories flooded my brain and demanded to be attended to.

_It had been a winter morning about a year ago, still months before the war started. Draco and I had taken to bird watching when we could drag ourselves out of bed at six in the morning, which didn't always happen. _

_We'd woken up at five fifty-five and had made it out the door by six-fifteen. I had refused to leave until I had a cup of coffee in my hands that I could take with me. Draco always let me have my way on inconsequential things like that. "You have to pick your battles," he'd tell me._

_Draco was excited, because a neighbor had spotted a Redwing yesterday and he was determined to see one himself. Draco was like that. He'd get really excited about something, and then the only way to calm him down would be to let him do whatever he was excited about. If you didn't let him do it, then he'd either get really grumpy, or he'd sneak out to do whatever he was excited about by himself. Being his girlfriend, I just wanted to spend time with him, so I always went with him. _

_We were bundled up because it was still really cold outside this early in the morning. Although it was approaching spring, the weather seemed to have missed the memo. It was only slightly warmer than it had been in winter, and everyone was waiting for spring to show its signs. _

_We were walking slowly, hand in hand as I sipped my coffee slowly and carefully. As we walked, I suddenly stopped walking and made a surprised noise. Draco turned to me and raised his eyebrow._

_"What is it," he had whispered to me. It was so quiet in the mornings that we both always felt that we had to whisper to keep the peace in tact._

_"The ground's thawing! It's the first sign of spring!" I whispered back excitedly, almost forgetting to whisper as I pointed straight ahead and a little to the right of where we were standing. _

_Draco looked towards where I had pointed and tilted his head slightly to the side. Standing lonesome on the side of the trail was a purple flower that I didn't know the name of. It was short and almost looked like a dwarf kind of tulip mixed with some other kind of flower. Although I had seen prettier flowers before, at that moment, that single flower was the most beautiful flower in the world. _

_Draco slipped his arms around me, kissed my forehead, and leaned closer to my ear to whisper in my ear._

_"You're right. It's almost spring." We stood there standing in each other's arms for a long time, staring at the little flower all by itself. _

I was startled out of the memory as a precariously placed hairbrush fell off of the bathroom sink to hit the floor with a thud. As I jumped at the sound, a tear fell off of my chin to hit my thigh. It was then that I realized that I had been crying. Thinking of Draco only made me sad that he was gone. I wish he was still here.


End file.
